


The End of the World

by Islair



Series: Breeders AU [1]
Category: The Emperor's Edge Series - Lindsay Buroker
Genre: carrierverse-inspired, scene setter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-12 18:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Islair/pseuds/Islair
Summary: An alien plague accidentally released devastates the world. This is the scene-setter for this AU.
Series: Breeders AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548352





	The End of the World

It all begins something like this.

Treasure hunters brought the artifact back in their haul from a dig of alien ruins to a major port in the north of Turgonia. Whilst examining their treasures, they tried to prise open the artifact. It exploded, throwing a cloud of dust into the air that had the whole population of the city coughing within minutes.

The coughing fits subsided quickly, and the people - thinking nothing more of it - continued about their lives. Shaking hands on a deal in the marketplace. A sudden sneeze in a crowded train carriage. Passing a bottle round off-duty crewmates on a ship bound for Nuria. By the time people began to sicken and die three weeks later, the plague had already spread throughout the Empire and beyond.

Shopkeepers collapsed in their shops. Soldiers collapsed in their barracks. Children collapsed at their desks at school. Men and women collapsed in the street going about their daily lives. The victims struggled to breathe as blood and pus flooded their lungs. Some survived. Most did not.

In Turgonia, martial law was declared. All schools were closed and people told to stay in their homes in a futile attempt to stop the spread of the plague. Mass communal funerary pyres burned day and night on the outskirts of all towns and cities. The survivors were organised into work teams to clear the bodies and run essential services - harvesting and distributing food, water and fuel. Caring for the sick. Tending to the many orphans.

As the rates of sickness and death finally returned to normal, an Empire-wide census was held. The returns were grim reading. Fully 60% of the population had died. More horrifying yet was the stark statistic: all the survivors were male.


End file.
